24022019-TT-01.qxd 2/23/2019 10:58 PM Page 1 123 chandigarh | gurugram | jalandhar | bathinda | jammu | srinagar | vol.139 no.54 | 30 pages | ~5.00 | regd.no.chd/0006/2018-2020 established in 1881 | sunday, february 24 2019 AERO SHOW-STOPPER: 300 VEHICLES GUTTED Yash Goyal Sindhu first woman to fly Tejas Tribune News Service Bengaluru, February 23 From flying helicopters and fighter jets, to being air traffic controllers and doing para-jumps, it was literally a women’s day at Aero India here as the Ministry of Defence had listed it to celebrate women achievers in aerospace. The two hours of morning flying — 10 am to noon — at the Yelahanka air base was dominated by women. Badminton star PV Sindhu became the first woman to fly the Light Combat Aircraft, the Tejas, with the offi- cial Twitter handle of DRDO, the designer of the plane, sending out congratulations to the shuttler, who did a 40- minute sortie. It was a medium altitude flight, IAF officials later said. IAF said a flight like this would have Sindhu experiencing 4 to 5 G-force. The maximum for humans is 9. G-force is the gravitational force experienced by pilots when a fighter jet takes off and flies at sonic speeds. In the past three days, Squadron Leader Sneha Kulkarni has been flying in her helicopter as part of ‘Sarang’ — IAF’s dare-devil aerobatic display team. For the special days, the air traffic control was also continued on page 7 Tonk (Rajasthan), February 23 Expressing concern over assaults on Kashmiris post Pulwama, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today underlined that India’s fight was against terrorism and not Kashmiris. “Everybody is tired of terrorism in Kashmir and people there want to contain terrorism forever,” he told a rally of BJP workers and leaders here. Recalling his conversation with Imran Khan after the cricketer-turned-politician became Pakistan’s PM, Modi said, “I told him there have been enough fights between India and Pakistan... let us fight poverty and illiteracy. He told me, ‘Modiji, I am the son of a Pathan. I speak the truth and act truly’. Let us see if he meant what he said.” Pointing out that Kashmiris had lined up to donate blood for those injured during the Amarnath yatra last year, the PM emphasised: “Our fight is against those who are against humanity.” He said two years ago, when sarpanches and panches from Kashmir requested that panchayat polls be held, “I urged them to close down schools run by terrorists continued on page 7 more on page 7 Khattar govt mulling India invited to OIC simultaneous polls? meet, first time ever Sushil Manav & Vishal Joshi Tribune News Service Chandigarh/Kurukshetra, Feb 23 The ML Khattar-led BJP government in Haryana is consulting party leaders and the cadre on holding simultaneous Assembly and parliamentary polls, even though the CM and senior party functionaries have publicly denied any such possibility. Elections to the Haryana Assembly are due in October. It is learnt discussions are underway on whether it will be in the party’s interest to prepone the polls, holding these along with those for the Lok Sabha. A senior minister said the CM and party functionaries had been holding parleys with MLAs on the issue and Haryana CM denies it, but BJP leader claims discussions underway that most of them, citing the party’s victory in the Jind bypoll and the mayoral elections in the five municipal corporations, were of the view that simultaneous polls would benefit the BJP. In Maharashtra, where like Haryana, Assembly elections are due in October, the BJP and Shiv Sena have sealed an alliance for the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha seats, fuelling speculation on simultaneous polls in the two states. Khattar categorically told party workers from Kurukshetra, Karnal, Ambala and continued on page 7 New Delhi, February 23 India has won a first-ever invite to a ministerial meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC), a powerful block of Muslim nations. UAE, the host of the OIC meeting on March 1 and 2, has invited Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj to one of the sessions. Though this meeting is not a marquee event like the OIC summit, the invite will considerably irk Pakistan, which has been at the receiving end following the Pulwama attack at international bodies. After the Indians lobbied in New York for nearly a week, the UNSC condemned the Pulwama attack and named JeM as a terrorist organisation. Indians next posed sharp questions in Paris, forcing the haryana Our fight against terror, 200 Jamaat leaders detained in Valley not Kashmiris, says PM Separatists call it Art 35A conspiracy ‘Imran said as Pathan would honour word, let’s see’ Firefighters extinguish smouldering cars after a fire broke out in a parking lot during Aero India show at Yelahanka IAF station in Bengaluru. While 300 cars were gutted, no casualties were reported. The blaze is suspected to have been caused by dry grass fire aided by heavy winds. REUTERS BACK PAGE ! New uncertainties; no poll will be failure: Omar Arun Joshi Tribune News Service Jammu, February 23 Terming the February 14 Pulwama terror attack the trigger point of new uncertainties in Jammu and Kashmir, National Conference vicepresident Omar Abdullah has said not holding simultaneous Assembly and Lok Sabha polls would be a “monumental failure”. In an interview to The Tribune, the former Chief Minister said elections “could give breathing space to the people, who are currently choked by uncertainties — revival of militancy, question mark about the education and future of Kashmiri students who have come home after facing harassment in various parts of the country, and the dangerous slide in India-Pakistan relations”. “We want elections immediately. That means simultaneous parliamentary and Assembly polls. There are Supreme Court directions that the elections should be held within six months of dissolution of Assembly, but what I ‘WHAT IS HAPPENING?’ Nobody knows what is happening. Those who don’t know anything are reading two plus two as 22. And those who know everything are keeping mum. In the uncertainty, inimical interests thrive ❝ Omar Abdullah, EX-CM 35A CASE ON TUESDAY? PAGE 7 am told is that the state government is asking for deferment of polls. If it is true, then it is a monumental failure of the government,” he said. On reports of airlifting of 100 companies of Central Armed Police Force personnel ahead of the hearing of Article 35A in the Supreme Court, he said, “I am hearing that they are bringing an ordinance on the Article continued on page 7 RECORDS TUMBLE Ishfaq Tantry Srinagar, February 23 After the clampdown on JKLF chief Yasin Malik on Friday evening, at least 200 leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), including its president Abdul Hamid Fayaz, were detained by the authorities today — ahead of a hearing in the Supreme Court on Article 35A of the Constitution. The Jamaat is seen as the main driving force behind the separatist movement. Its spokesperson called the crackdown “a conspiracy to pave the way for further uncertainty”. He claimed something fishy was going on “when the state’s special status under Article 35A has been questioned in the Supreme Court”. The government move has triggered fresh tensions in the Valley, which has been on the edge ever since the Pulwama attack, with a spontaneous bandh observed in several parts. Separatists Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq have called for a shutdown on Sunday. “The nocturnal raids across the Valley seem not only part of the continued policy of suppression of the pro-selfdetermination leadership and narrative, but also an indication of what may be expected during the hearing APURVI SHOOTS 252.9 FOR GOLD Apurvi Chandela shattered the world record on her way to winning the women’s 10m air rifle gold in the ISSF World Cup in New Delhi on Saturday. The 26-year-old shot 252.9 points with an incredible sequence of scores that never dropped below 10. She finished a staggering 1.1 points ahead of the silver medallist. WELCOME IT: MEA “We see this invitation as a welcome recognition by OIC of the presence of 185 million Muslims in India and of their contribution to its pluralistic ethos, and of India’s contribution to the Islamic world...” SPORT global Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to put Pakistan on notice for failing to implement anti-money laundering and terror financing laws. Exactly half a century ago, Pakistan had prevented India from joining the OIC by threatening a walkout from its first summit meeting in Morocco. As a result, the Indian delegate and later President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed had to return from Rome. OIC has 57 members. — TNS HAZRATULLAH ZAZAI CELEBRATES HIS CENTURY. TWITTER AFGHANISTAN SLAM 278 RUNS IN T20I Afghanistan created history by scoring record 278/3 against Ireland in a T20I match at Dehradun on Saturday. The previous record of 263 is jointly held by Royal Challengers Bangalore and Australia. 162 236 22 Karam Prakash Tribune News Service Patiala, February 23 To attract specialist doctors, the Punjab Government has decided to give an incentive of up to ~75,000 over and above their monthly remuneration. Reeling under a severe shortage, the Health Department has announced the incentive for gynaecologists and paediatricians under the National Health Mission (NHM). Regular doctors will get the incentive on the recom- WHY DOCS STAY AWAY ■ At a time when pvt hospitals are offering more than ~2.5 lakh a month along with lucrative facilities to specialist doctors, govt pays just around ~63,000 a month, including perks ■ Specialists in radiology and paediatrics depts, where maximum posts are vacant, are reportedly paid ~3-4 lakh monthly in the private sector mendation of the civil surgeon. The monthly incentive — ~25,000, ~50,000 and ~75,000 — will depend on the location of posting. All civil surgeons have been asked to categorise Community Health Centres (CHC), Sub Division- al Hospitals and Divisional Hospitals for the incentives. In a letter to all civil surgeons, Additional Chief Secretary Satish Chandra said: “The move aims at compensating the specialist doctors for any hardships owing to the place of their posting.” A week back, 58 per cent of the advertised posts for “medical specialist” remained vacant following a walk-in interview. Of the 513 posts, only 215 doctors joined. The Tribune had recently reported that doctors were averse to joining due to low salary, clerical work (writing medico-legal report in every legal case) and VIP duties. The department has also increased the monthly remuneration of specialist doctors posted under the NHM from ~70,000 to ~1,25,000. Chandra said: “Most specialists prefer to stay in Mohali and Ludhiana districts. We are short of 40% gynaecologists and 50% paediatricians. We hope we are able to address the issue.” -run stand highest for opening wicket sixes hit in the innings, 16 by Zazai Today’s issue is of 30 pages, including six-page Spectrum. each for 1 cr farmers today New Delhi, February 23 Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the Rs 75,000crore Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, on Sunday by transferring the first instalment of Rs 2,000 each to over one crore farmers, a senior agriculture ministry official said. Another one crore farmers will be covered in the next two-three days, he said. In the interim Budget 201920, the Centre had announced Yasin Malik, JKLF chief Dr Abdul Hamid Fayaz, Jamaat-e-Islami chief Zahid Ali, Jamaat spokesperson Ghulam Qadir Lone, Jamaat ex-secy gen Abdur Rouf, Jamaat dist chief Mohammad Hayat, Jamaat’s Tral chief 100 CAPF COMPANIES BEING DEPLOYED Srinagar: Additional Central forces have begun arriving in the Valley, with the first batch airlifted on Saturday. The Centre had on Friday ordered “urgent” deployment of over 100 companies of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF), which is nearly 10,000 personnel — 45 of CRPF, 35 BSF and 10 from ITBP and SSB. MHA sources termed it a routine pre-LS poll exercise. TNS on Article 35A,” a joint statement by the resistance leadership read. A senior police official called the arrests “precautionary as the state is headed for the polls”. Former CM Mehbooba Mufti and Peoples Conference chairman condemned the arrests. In a tweet, she said she “fail(s) to understand such an arbitrary move which will only precipitate matters. You can imprison a person, but not his ideas.” IN BRIEF Kejri on fast from March 1 over Delhi statehood New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday announced an indefinite hunger strike from March 1 to press the demand for full statehood to Delhi. Addressing the budget session, Kejriwal stepped up his attack on the Centre and said the Delhi Government was unable to perform its duties towards people of the city because it lacked power. “The elected government cannot give people justice, work for them and take up development works because it lacks power and the Centre obstructs its functioning. Is the value of Delhi voters less than other states?” he said. PTI Malpractices at hospitals for ex-servicemen being probed by Hazratullah Zazai highest score by Asian Punjab offers ~75,000 incentive to woo specialist docs Centre’s 1st tranche of ~2K Will be over and above their monthly remuneration I Package to depend on location of posting AMONG THE ARRESTED Tribune News Service the PM-KISAN scheme under which Rs 6,000 per year will be given in three instalments to 12 crore small and marginal farmers holding cultivable land up to 2 hectares. The scheme has been made effective from this fiscal itself and as a result, farmers will get one instalment before March-end. The ministry did not mention the number of farmers who will get their first instalment of Rs 2,000 on Sunday. — PTI Ahmedabad: The government was probing fraudulent practices at hospitals empanelled for treatment of ex-servicemen, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said here on Saturday. She said there were several issues with the scheme (ECHS), and that some of these hospitals inflated the bills. PTI Conditions for data storage abroad in draft e-com policy New Delhi: The government has released the draft national ecommerce policy proposing setting up a legal and technological framework for restrictions on cross-border data flow and also laid out conditions for businesses regarding collection or processing of sensitive data locally and storing it abroad. The draft policy said a framework would be created to provide the basis for restrictions on cross-border data flow from specified sources. PTI

The Tribune, now published from Chandigarh, started publication on February 2, 1881, in Lahore (now in Pakistan). It was started by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, a public-spirited philanthropist, and is run by a trust comprising four eminent persons as trustees.
The Tribune, the largest selling daily in North India, publishes news and views without any bias or prejudice of any kind. Restraint and moderation, rather than agitational language and partisanship, are the hallmarks of the paper. It is an independent newspaper in the real sense of the term.
The English edition apart, the 133-year-old Tribune has two sister publications, Punjabi Tribune (in Punjabi) and Dainik Tribune (in Hindi).